Q&A: Housewife Taylor Armstrong gets real

Taylor Armstrong stars in the Bravo reality TV series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and is using her celebrity to change women’s lives around the world.

Armstrong’s new book Hiding From Reality: My Story of Love, Loss and Finding the Courage Within is an autobiographical account of her personal struggle with domestic violence, which ended tragically in 2011 with her estranged husband Russell’s very public suicide.

Armstrong has since survived the whirlwind media storm, and continues to live in Beverly Hills with her young daughter, Kennedy (6). Channeling her experience into positive action, Armstrong has volunteered for the 1736 Family Crisis Center for six years, and recently founded the Taylor Armstrong Foundation to expand her reach to local domestic violence shelters across the nation. She was also named Chief Creative Director of BeautyTicket.com, a new online personal shopping community.

From juicy housewife gossip, to authentic book inspiration, a college speaking tour preview and what really happened when the cameras stopped filming, get to know Taylor Armstrong in this DSD exclusive.

Q: Does the show accurately depict the women of Beverly Hills?

A: All of our relationship drama is very real. Unfortunately, our lives are not cookie cutter like people expected Beverly Hills to be. So I’m happy in a way that people have been able to see so much of how real these women are and that we really care about each other. And the fact that we get so emotional is because we are truly invested in each other’s lives and we are a part of each other’s lives.

Q: Off camera, do you think that Beverly Hills women are similar to the famous housewives?

A: I do. I think that -- taking the drama of my life, obviously, in this last year has been pretty significant and severe in some ways -- so that aside, just the regular conflict. There is a lot of pressure for women across the country and I think that our relationships get strained with one another because we’re trying to be moms and wives and have relationships and people get their feelings hurt. It’s probably a little more intense when you’re filming a television show, just because there are cameras there and you find that your emotions are a little more raw when you’re on camera.

Q: The franchise, especially Beverly Hills, is known for drama. How do the producers stage and encourage conflict?

A: We don’t have writers, so everything is just us interacting with one another. They really assist us in getting together in locations, because when you’re filming in a location they have to facilitate that. So they’ll organize for us to get together sometimes in a restaurant or something, which has to happen with insurance and permits to film. So in that respect they are involved, but the real conflict that occurs is all on our own, as much as I’m embarrassed to say that. [laughs]

Q: What are the most important lessons you’ve learned from having your personal life in the public eye?